Adopting Out the Last Kitten of the Litter

For those of us with organizations in the northern climates, the summer kitten season is finally coming to an end. Most of our youngest kittens are long-since adopted and romping around their new homes. But what about those kittens that didn’t get snatched up right away? Maybe they were the shyer, “spirit cats”, or maybe adoptions slowed down when your organization had a lot of the same colored kitties. Whatever the case, what can be done to move these potentially older kittens along and get them into homes?

Reduce their adoption fees.

Adoption fees for kittens can range from $100-$350. Don’t want to change your adoption procedures, but do reduce the fee for these kitties.

Make sure the world knows you still have kittens and profile these kittens on social media.

People can’t adopt or respond unless they know what you have! Many organizations have such a high demand for kittens they have an unspoken policy of never even posting that they have kittens. For some reason, any kittens remaining after the height of the season never get the “cat of the week” placement that they deserve.

Notify all of your kitten foster homes that you have these kittens.

Your fosters serve as adoption ambassadors for their own foster kittens, and I bet they can also advocate for the remaining kitties in your shelter as well. And think beyond just this wave of kittens — keep your kitten foster homes informed about available kitties all winter long.

Contact families that adopted kittens this summer, especially if you know who might have adopted from the current kitten’s litter.

Many people will adopt a sibling if it is left behind. This is very specialized marketing, but is worth it.

Good luck getting these last kitties home. Most of these tips also work well for the mom cats, who tend to have a longer length of stay than their kittens.

Feel free to share your tips of success on our Facebook page.